Looks or personality: what drives damselfly male mating success in the wild?

Figures & data

Figure 1. Calopteryx splendens - mature male.

Figure 2. Study site and experimental methods in Biala Nida river, Poland. Floating vegetation (potamogeton natans) rafts (territories) (a), territory manipulation by sinking the floating vegetation with ballast (b), Calopteryx splendens female attached to a fishing line (c-d).

Table I. Number of Calopteryx splendens males used in experiments on Biala Nida river, Poland.

Trait measured	Number of individuals
Mating success	52
Courtship effort, Chasing female	79
Boldness	45
Chasing male, Heavy fights	72
Patch size, Thorax	78

Figure 3. Correlation between plasticity and personality of courtship related traits and mating success (a–d). Correlation between body dimensions (wing patch size and thorax width) and male mating success in Calopteryx splendens males (e–f). Non-significant relationships are shown with dashed lines.

Table II. Effects of personality and plasticity of courtship-related behaviours and body size on male mating success in Calopteryx splendens.

	Variable	Estimate	Z value	P
Personality	Courtship effort	0.02	2.78	0.006*
(consistency)	Chasing female	<0.01	0.39	0.699
	Patch size	−0.01	−1.71	0.087
	Thorax	0.33	1.51	0.130
Plasticity	Courtship effort	0.01	1.70	0.089
	Chasing female	<0.01	0.45	0.651
	Patch size	−0.02	−2.81	0.005*
	Thorax	0.22	0.71	0.478

Figure 4. Polynomial relation between: personality in boldness and aggression related traits and mating success of Calopteryx splendens males (a, b, e) and between plasticity of boldness and aggression related traits and mating success (c, d, f); standard error (shaded area).

Table III. Effects of personality and plasticity in boldness-aggression related traits and body size on male mating success in Calopteryx splendens.

	Variable	Estimate	Z value	P
Personality	Boldness	<0.01	0.13	0.893
(consistency)	Chasing male	<-0.01	−0.38	0.630
	Heavy fights	<0.01	0.50	0.617
	Patch size	−0.01	−2.21	0.028*
	Thorax	0.51	2.03	0.042*
Plasticity	Boldness	<0.01	0.84	0.397
	Chasing male	<-0.01	−0.72	0.468
	Heavy fights	<0.01	0.73	0.466
	Patch size	−0.02	−1.82	0.069
	Thorax	0.93	2.44	0.015*

Figure 5. Correlations between boldness and aggression related traits: a – chasing male, and b – heavy fights. Non-significant relationship is shown with dashed line.